Being ditched by the US and India, Bangladesh chief adviser and US deep state actor Dr Muhammad Yunus initiated a massive demonstration at the historic Suhrawardy Udyan on April 12 to protest against Israeli aggression in Palestine.

Hundreds of thousands of people joined the show of power as the interim government and the Jatiya Nagorik Party lent support towards the BNP, Jamaat, Gono Odhikar Parishad and other Islamist groups, who campaigned for a week to make it a success and suppress the incidents of anarchy during the anti-Israel campaigns on April 7, which made rounds on international media.

‘মার্চ ফর গাজা’ ঘোষণাপত্রে কী আছে

However, the April 12 showdown also created much debate due to the presence of jihadists, the Yunus Gang and Islamists like Jamaat and Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Emboldened by the spirit of jihad, they protested Israeli actions and criticized the US, Saudi Arabia and India for aiding the Jews.

Interestingly, the protestors carried the flags of Palestine, Pakistan, the Nazis, and al-Qaeda. Even the Rohingya armed group ARSA supporters held posters of its chief, Ata Ullah alias Abu Ammar Jununi, demanding his release.

There was also a poster of Hitler and a Nazi flag, which called for Nazi-style action against the Jewish people.

From the stage, the organizers announced the Dhaka Declaration, asking the United Nations, the OIC, and the Bangladesh government to take due measures to stop the genocide of Palestinians.

The event was called via Facebook under the banner of Palestine Solidarity Movement, Bangladesh, on April 7, the day Islamists joined the global strike in solidarity with Gaza across the country. However, the protests were marred by mindless attacks and looting of showrooms of Bata shoes, KFC, and some other foreign brands in Dhaka, Sylhet, Chittagong, and Cox’s Bazar, considered to be owned by Israelis.

To make it a success, the platform contacted pro-Yunus and pro-Palestine celebrities and politicians, held coordination meetings, and uploaded video messages of the patrons and campaigners.

A day after the event, which saw a gathering of around 100,000 people, Jamaat-e-Islami confirmed that its student unit leader Abu Shadik Kayem organized the March for Gaza. Facebook posts by Jamaat leaders revealed that the event was actually organized by Jamaat-backed civil society platform Nagorik Unnoyon Forum.

Radical Islamists like Mizanur Rahman Azhari, Ahmadullah, Mamunul Haque, and rumour newspaper Amar Desh editor Mahmudur Rahman were seen on the stage.

These Islamists are linked to militant al-Qaeda and Taliban supporters like Jasimuddin Rahmani, Mufti Harun Izhar, Asif Adnan, Abu Twaha Adnan, and Anayetullah Abbasi, who are enjoying impunity during the Yunus regime and called for jihad in Bangladesh, Myanmar, India and Palestine.

The program was presided over by Maulana Khatib Abdul Malek, the khatib of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque appointed by the interim government.

Many were seen waving Kalema flags at the Raju sculpture of Dhaka University which are usually demonstrated by al-Qaeda and Hizb ut-Tahrir. People also joined the event with placards of Osama bin Laden, Adolf Hitler and the recently arrested Rohingya terrorist leader Ata Ullah.

Since the August 5 changeover, condemnation campaigns have been underway at various educational institutions against Israel, the US and India by throwing shoes on the posters of their flags and heads of state, pasting the flags on the floors of entrances of colleges, universities and shopping centers, and burning flags and effigies of Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, Mohammad bin Salman and Narendra Modi.

The declaration

At the event, organizer and Jamaati editor Mahmudur Rahman announced a long declaration, which said they gathered to stand by the fearless people of Gaza. The gathering was not just a protest; it was their answer to history, a pledge, an oath.

He presented the demands at four levels:

The first set of demands was to the United Nations and the international community. It said that the bloodshed and destruction that is happening every day in Gaza is not the failure of any single government—rather, it is the result of an international failure, and this failure is not limited to silence, but many countries in the Western power circle have directly prolonged this genocide by providing weapons, money, and diplomatic support to the occupying Israel, and this world system has entered into a competition to protect the occupying Israel rather than questioning it.

1. The trial of the Zionist Israel genocide must be ensured in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

2. Effective and collective steps must be taken to stop the genocide, not a ceasefire.

3. Obligations must be created to return the pre-1967 land.

4. East Jerusalem must be internationally recognized as the capital of the Palestinian state.

5. The path must be opened for the Palestinians to establish self-determination, security and state sovereignty.

The second demand was made to the leaders of the Muslim Ummah or the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It said that Palestine is not just a territory; it is part of the identity of the Muslim Ummah and Gaza is now not just a war-torn city. Also, the declaration mentioned Palestine as the first Qibla of Muslims and blamed Hindutva in India for becoming the representative of the Zionist project in this region. India is carrying out well-planned repression and persecution against Muslims. The recent intervention in the Waqf Property Act in India took away the religious and historical rights of Muslims, which is a clear warning to the Ummah.

1. Immediately sever all economic, military and diplomatic relations with Israel.

2. A trade blockade and sanctions must be imposed against the Zionist state.

3. Stand by the oppressed people of Gaza with all-out cooperation, including medical, food, housing and defense assistance.

4. An active diplomatic campaign must be launched at the international level to bring Israel into the fold.

5. The OIC and Muslim states must take a strong protest and effective diplomatic stance against state aggression, such as the deprivation of the rights of Muslims under the Hindutva rule of India, an ally of Zionism, especially the interference in the Waqf law.

Their third set of demands was to the Bangladesh government. Since Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country, the basis of whose independence struggle is the spirit of resistance against injustice, Bangladesh is in a historic position not only for humanity but also for faith on the issue of Palestine.

And as a democratic state, the government’s responsibility is to respect the faith and moral aspirations of the people. The people of Bangladesh have pledged to stand by Gaza, so silence at the state level is tantamount to contempt for this popular aspiration.

1. The “Except Israel’” clause should be reinstated in Bangladeshi passports, and the government’s position of not recognizing Israel as a state should be made clearer.

2. All agreements with Israeli institutions should be cancelled.

3. Effective measures should be taken to send relief and medical aid to Gaza on a national basis.

4. Instructions should be given to boycott products of Zionist companies in all government institutions and import policies.

5. The ongoing persecution of Muslims and other minorities under the Hindutva government of India, an ally of Zionism, should be protested on a national basis, since Hindutva is not just a local ideology today but is also one of the allies of the international Zionist bloc.

6. The history of the struggle of Al-Aqsa, Palestine and Muslims should be included in textbooks and education policies.

The final demands were essentially pledges for the participants.

“Since, we believe, Al-Quds is not just a city, it is part of faith, and we know that the liberation of Baitul Maqdis will be written not by anyone else, but by our own generation. We understand that the establishment of Zionism is basically the result of our own self-forgetfulness, and if we are not prepared today, then God forbid, tomorrow our children may find a Bangladesh where Hinduism and Zionism together create a new Gaza. Gaza shows us that being a believer means not just surviving but also being steadfast in the struggle.

1. We will all spontaneously boycott those products, companies and forces that sustain the Israeli occupation.

2. We will prepare our society and future generations, who will preserve and restore all the symbols and signs of Islam and the Muslim Ummah, InshaAllah.

3. We will raise our children in such a way that they will be ready to sacrifice their lives and property to protect their ideals and territory.

4. We will not be divided. Because we know that it does not take time to conquer a divided community.